Iconic Hollywood actor, Dwayne Johnson, popularly known as ‘The Rock’ says he adopted a Nigerian name, Davies Okoye in the movie ‘Rampage’ to honour Christian Okoye, one of his all-time favourite National Football League (NFL) legends.

Christian Emeka Okoye who was born on August 16, 1961 is a Nigerian-American former American Football full-back who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1987-1992.

Nicknamed the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’, Okoye was known for his aggressive and powerful running style and his unequalled ability to break tackles. He was however forced into retirement due to multiple injuries.

‘The Rock’ who became popular with his imposing role in the ‘Scorpion King’ confirmed this on Wednesday on his Twitter handle @TheRock while responding to a twitter handler, Wale Adetona @iSlimfit who had expressed delight on the positive highlighting of Nigeria in Hollywood.

“Yes sir, happy you picked upon that. Since my character was adopted by a Nigerian family, I wanted his last name to pay homage to one of my all time fav @NFL football players – the “Nigerian Nightmare”, Christian Okoye. Enjoy Rampage,” Johnson said.

The movie which is set to be released on April 14, is an American science fiction monster thriller directed by Brad Peyton and loosely based on the video game with the same name by Midway Games.

Johnson, a producer and former professional wrestler was number 25 on Forbes list of the Most Powerful Celebrities in 2003 and has been in the top 20 since then. He was also the highest paid actor of 2016.